What Is Family For?
by TheFemaleDoctor-Version 10
Summary: After Beth is kidnapped, Daryl lives on the road trying to find her. When he is captured, Carol has to come to his rescue. Written for the PrintDust Fanfiction Secret Santa exchange. Complete.


Collab

By: Cutie101

Prompt: Sophia visits Daryl during a near death experience, Carol.

Fanfiction Name: EternallyBellaCullen

Daryl fell to his knees. A hearse with a white cross in the back window was driving down the road. He didn't know which fork it had taken. But he did know one thing for sure: it had taken Beth.

Daryl ranted, screamed, cried, and threw things. He punched trees. When all the noise he was making attracted walkers, he killed them. Ferociously. In the end, he knew nothing could bring Beth back. Only he could do that. The tires on the car were difficult to track on the muddy gravel road. He made it a half mile, and the trail ran cold. At another damn fork in the road.

He knew one direction led toward Atlanta, but that couldn't be where the hearse was headed. Daryl had seen the city himself. It was bombed out and infested with millions of the undead.

He took the left fork, confident he had deduced the correct direction. He encountered nothing but walkers that whole day. He found a nice grove, overlooking a hill. Nothing could come up the crest and suprise him.

He strung some aluminum cans on twine around a good 15 foot square area. You could never be too careful, he reasoned. Daryl built a small fire, careful to be quiet as he roasted a squirrel over the embers. He grumbled quietly. A shoddy squirrel was the new standard of his meals. He kept watch, and eyed the fire as the coals slowly died. Finally, it was time to get some rest.

Daryl groaned and pulled out his downy coat. He stuffed his arms into it roughly. Scanning the area surrounding his campsite one more time, Daryl sucumbed to slumber.

" Hey, I think the kid's waking up!"

Daryl tilted his head in confusion. Blinking, he realized that he was now inside somewhere. Where the hell was he? And who was talking? He needed to exact revenge for them calling him a baby goat. He tried to stretch, and realized that he was taped to a chair. That would hurt to take off, he sighed.

"Mornin' Sunshine! You're finally awake. So, who are you? I've been dying to know." A voice asked, drawing Daryl's attention.

An older man with silver hair and beard was crouching on the floor about five feet from Daryl's front. Daryl didn't answer.

"You're gonna be that way? Fine." The man says.

He scoots closer to Daryl and draws back his arm, artfully shaping his knuckles into a fist. Daryl knows what's coming, and braces himself. It hurts, and he spits blood. Next time, Daryl vowed, he'd spit in the man's mouth.

"Good one Danny! Got this fella here right in the kisser!" Daryl diverted his furious gaze to the speaker. A chubby guy was guarding the door. It was on his right, Daryl noted.

"Shut up, Chuck!" Danny exclaimed.

"Now..." He said, his attention once again focused upon Daryl.

"Who are you? What were you doin' up in our neck o' the woods? If you don't answer, it's gonna be much more painful for ya." Danny drawled.

Daryl once again remained silent.

"That does it!" Danny yells.

Even though he knows it's coming, it doesn't make the furious punches hurt any less. He takes them in absolute silence.

"I don't think he's gonna say anything, boss. Maybe he's mute." Chuck says. Daryl internally smirks.

"Nah. He just don't wanna talk." Danny gives Daryl a calculating look. Damn. He wasn't as easily fooled. Danny just looks at him for several minutes. He finally takes action.

Danny takes a step back, then lunges forward, and delivers a striking kick to Daryl's temple. It hurts like hell, and then, blackness.

Daryl wakes up on the forest floor. He jumps up. He has no idea where he is, so he climbs a tree to scout. He sees a flash of blue-gray, and mousy brown hair. The thing walks with a bit of grace, so it must be a person.

Daryl scales back to the ground, and heads in the direction of the thing. After three long and hard miles, he's convinced he was hallucinating.

"Hello." A quiet voice says behind him. Daryl wheels around.

The face is so familiar. Chubby cheeks, a button nose. Almond eyes and small, pink lips. A ratty, tangled bob surrounds her now haggard face. The trees whisper solemnly, adding to the drama.

It could not be. But yet it was. Daryl's mputh fell open. He couldn't form a coherent thought, let alone words. He struggled for a moment, and finally a whisper escapes through the steel girders that are his lips.

"Sophia?" He says, incredibly confused.

"Hello, Mr. Dixon." Sophia politely replies.

"Well, I thiught...You were dead." Daryl says shakily.

"I am." She says calmly.

"Am I dead? Oh no! No! No! No! Your mom! Who will take care of her? Or Beth?" Daryl starts freaking out.

"No, you dummy! You're alive. Well, mostly. That mean guy kicked you pretty hard." Sophia says with a small frown.

"Hey!" Daryl laughs, although he responds with a stern look.

"I have a question..." She hesitates.

"Shoot." Daryl replies.

"Is my mom okay?" Sophia aks.

"Yeha. At leats, I hope so. She sure misses you, but she's fine. She still loves you very also made sure you had a proper burial. It was on a beautiful farm, but we had to leave it. I'll have to visit it, and bring you flowers." Daryl gushes. This is the most he's talked in ages. He smiles. All it took was Carol's curious daughter.

"I'm glad. When you see Mon again, can you tell her I love her?" Sophia requests.

"Of course. I'm sure she'd want me to tell you she loves you very much." Daryl says.

"Okay. Thank you so much, Mr. Dixon. I'm sure you'll take very good care of Mom and Beth. You'll see them both agian soon." Sophia sya, a secret hushed in her voice.

The last thing Daryl remebered was laughing at how much like Carol Sophia had been.

Daryl smelt smoke. He coughed, and looked around in confusion. Nobody was in the concrete interrogation room with him. The door was slightly open, which was the source of the smoke.

He was, unfortunately, still duct taped to the chair. His ankles were taped together, then to the chair, so he couldn't stand up and walk away. He was stuck.

Daryl now heard gunfire, and masculine yelling. He heard a knife sing as it was buried in something. A body must haev fallen to the floor, because he heard a loud thump. A muttered curse and footsteps followed. The footsteps get closer, and now are right outside the door. A light push by the infiltrator opened the door.

A familiar grizzled mane of gray hair greeted Daryl. Carol was a sight for sore eyes. She stealthily walked to Daryl, and began sawing the tape off. It took a while, but she managed. When it came time to rip the tape off, a muted "Sorry" floated up to Daryl's ears. A quick arm motion by Carol, and now he had no hair follicles in his right ankle.

He grunted, but otherwise kept quiet. Carol finished ripping the tape off. Daryl jumped to his feet and rubbed his wrists furiously. He stretched and turned to Carol.

"How'd you get in here? And how did you find me?" He asks.

Without a word, Carol hands Daryl his crossbow.

"Well?" He asks.

"We can disscuss this later." Carol deadpans, turning away so he can't see her face.

Daryl took a peek around the corner. Three guards lay on the floor, either dead or dying. He withdrew from the doorway.

"Are there any new guards?" Carol asks.

"No. I'm waiting to see if any new ones turn up." Daryl replies.

"Lat's go. We need to hurry. I set off alarms, and all that noise will draw walkers." Carol calmly explains, just like Sophia.

"Okay, but stay behind me." Daryl agrees.

Carol say nothing, but obeys.

They make it down the long hallway, following the trail of bodies. Carol silently checks to make sure each had been dispatched properly. Carol leads Daryl to a back door.

"There are snipers on the roof!' She warns, to which he silently nods.

As quietly as possible, Daryl pushes open the door. It must have been soundproof, becuase once it's open, Daryl can hear an alarm wailing. He pushes the door open more, and surveys the outside for walkers. Nothing in the immediate area catches his attention. He shoves the exit open just a tiny bit wider. Nothing.

Daryl notices an old dumpster and several cargo boxes strewn across the lot.

"Okay, see those cargo boxes? We're going to run for it. Don't say anything about where we're going, who we are, or anything that could lead them to find us." Daryl says.

Carol responds with a quick, jerky nod.

"Let's go." Daryl says.

They run. Daryl makes sure he is shielding her at all times. She can't die. And neither can he. At least not until he relays Sophia's message to Carol.

Gun shots ring out, hitting the crumbled asphalt by their feet. The snipers weren't very good shots. Carol had warned him they were there, not that they were good.

They finally made it to the cargo boxes and ducked behind them. Carol was panting hard.

"Thanks!" She heaved out.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you! How did you find me?" Daryl questions.

"I was following your tracks before you were taken. You've been here about 36 hours. I just watched, learned what I could and headed in to rescue you." Carol explains.

"All that in 36 hours?'

"Yeah."

A gunshot hits a cargo box, ringing on the metal.

"Okay, since they haven't sent anyone out after us, it's time to run. Head for that clearing in the forest." Daryl discreetly points it out.

Carol nods.

"Ready?'

"Lat's go already!" Daryl loves her attitude.

They flat out sprint. Many shots are close to hitting their targets, but don't make it. A bullet whizzes past Daryl's ear, and he recoils.

Once they're in the grove, Carol pulls Daryl into a tight embrace.

"I've missed you so much! I thought you were dead!" Carol sobs.

"Well, Mother," Daryl exaggerates the last word,

"I was pretty worried about you myself." He says.

"Oh, over little old me? I can take care of myself." She says with blase.

"I know. I'm just suprised you pulled off a rescue all by yourself."

"What is family for?" Carol replies with a wink.


End file.
